Why I Will Take My Baby to Story Time and You Should Too

Katie Fitzgerald is a children's librarian in the Washington, DC Metro area, and she blogs about story time at Story Time Secrets. She is married to a fellow librarian, and they are anxiously awaiting the arrival of their first child in late November 2013.

As a soon-to-be new mom, I am looking forward to sharing many milestones with my first child. Because I'm a children's librarian, though, what I'm most excited about is taking my baby to story time. It might seem like an infant is too young for the library, but it's never too early to instill a love of reading — and visiting the library is a good outing for parents, too! In fact, library story time is one of the best places to bring a baby. Here's why:

Libraries are baby-friendly. Not every place of business will look kindly upon a screaming infant, but the library will welcome your little one, even on her worst days. Children's librarians barely flinch when your baby drools, cries, or spits up. They understand why you might have to duck out in the middle of story time, and when you return, they'll welcome you back with a smile.

Babies have so much fun at story time! Whenever I perform story time for a group of babies, I love to look around the room at their faces. Most of the time, their eyes are glued to me, taking in every word I say or sing, and they laugh along when their mommies bounce them in their laps or tickle their toes. They might not understand everything that's going on just yet, but there can be no doubt they're having a great time!

Babies love to meet other babies... and moms love to meet other moms. Though story time itself is not really a time for chatting, the moments before and after story time are wonderful opportunities for new friendships to form. One baby crawls over to another, and the next thing you know, their moms have a lunch date! Story time is also a great place to learn more about other baby-friendly events happening in your area.

Babies' brains are like sponges. There is no better time to expose your child to language than in the first five years of life. Going to story time from a very young age gives your baby lots of great tools that he'll be able to use when he gets to kindergarten and starts learning how to read.

Story time is bonding time. When I was a kid, story time was about sitting quietly in a circle while a librarian read a story. Baby story time nowadays is nothing like that! Instead, it's a chance for you and your baby to cuddle while you learn a new set of songs, rhymes, tickles, and bounces that you can continue to enjoy at home.

Baby story time is a great, free opportunity for you and your baby to have fun together, expand your social circle, and share in new learning experiences. It is also the perfect way to show your child your own love of reading, and to start her off on the path to her own wonderful relationship with libraries as she grows up. Check with the children's librarian at your local public library branch to find out when baby story time is happening in your area, and don't be shy about jumping in with both feet. You'll be glad you did.

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